Reports surfaced on Thursday that Colin Kaepernick plans to stand for the National Anthem next season, after kneeling during the song for every game during the 2016 regular season.
Unsurprisingly, this decision was met with as much scrutiny and controversy as his decision not to stand, with many pundits claiming that Kapernick’s fear of turning teams off from signing him as a free agent, has overshadowed what he claimed were his principles.
49ers wide receiver Torrey Smith was one of those who came to Kaepernick’s defense on Thursday afternoon, posting a set of tweets that poked fun at the idea of criticizing Kaepernick for both kneeling and standing, and calling him a legend for creating a national dialogue.
Kap takes a knee….Folks lose their mind….Kap says he is standing….Folks still lose their mind pic.twitter.com/UNtIrXTUqF
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) March 2, 2017
Kap is a legend for that protest though…he pushed race and social issues to the front and inspired more folks to say and do something
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) March 2, 2017
Smith was a vocal supporter of his teammate throughout last season, and argued that Kaeprenick was exercising rights that our military has fought to protect.
“I know he’s taken a lot of heat for it, and he understands when you do something like that, it offends a lot of people,” Smith said. “When I think of the national anthem, I think of the soldiers that have died for our rights, and a right that he exercised.”
Kapernick will reportedly opt out of his contract with the 49ers on March 9 when the new league year begins, and will become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.
Smith is still under contract through 2019 and is due $6.5 million next season. Smith caught just 20 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns last season. Smith missed four games after suffering a concussion on December 11.